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    Home » Recipes » Holidays and Entertaining

    Vegan Passover Seder Recipes and Menus

    Published: Feb 28, 2011 · Updated: Aug 2, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    These vegan Passover Seder recipes and menus (great for vegetarians too) focus on the fresh produce of early spring — very fitting, as the holiday has connotations of renewal and rebirth. Though there's flexibility in what may be served for the meal itself, there are also many restrictions. Ashkenazic Jews avoid, aside from bread-related products, many other grains and legumes. For Sephardic Jews, leavened wheat products are avoided, but rice and other grains can be used, as well as legumes. Shown above: Spring Vegetable Soup with Vegan Matzo Balls; photo by Susan Voisin.

    The biggest challenge for vegans is how to create eggless versions of egg-y classics like matzo balls. No worries, VegKitchen's vegan matzo balls (with a gluten-free variation) are awesome. Both traditions have lately embraced the use of quinoa during Passover week. And since Passover once had a strong seasonal festival aspect, spring's bountiful produce is most welcome.

    Spinach and potato matzo gratin (mina)
    Spinach, Leek, and Potato Matzo Gratin; photo by Hannah Kaminsky
    Passover Mock chopped liver (Mushroom, Cashew, and Onion)
    Passover Mock Chopped Liver (Mushroom, Cashew, and Onion)


    Ashkenazik (Eastern European) and Sephardic Passover Menu Options

    • Passover Mock Chopped Liver (photo above)
    • Passover Haroset or Sephardic Date Haroset
    • Spring Vegetable Soup with Vegan Matzo Balls (photo at top of this page)
      or Sephardic Vegetable Soup with Vegan Matzo Balls
    • Spinach, Leek, and Potato Matzo Gratin (photo above)
      or 
      Eggplant Matzo Mina
    • Quinoa Pilaf (photo below)
    • Carrot-Apple Pudding (photo below) or Sautéed Carrots with Almonds

    Additions to the menu: Serve plenty of matzo throughout the meal. Though this is an abundant menu, you may also wish to add a seasonal green salad and a simply prepared green vegetable such as asparagus or broccoli. And choose from one or two of the Passover Desserts, below.

    Passover Quinoa Pilaf
    Passover Quinoa Pilaf
    Passover Carrot Raisin Pudding
    Carrot-Apple Pudding


    Passover Desserts

    • Fruit Compote (photo below)
    • Chocolate Matzo Brittle (photo below)
    • Passover Pineapple Crumble (photo below)
    • Sephardic Wine and Fruit Pudding

      Apple and pear compote
      Fruit compote
    Chocolate Matzo brittle
    Chocolate Matzo Brittle
    Passover Pineapple Crumble
    Passover Pineapple Crumble


    The Seder Plate, Vegan Version

    Parsley bunchDuring the course of the Seder and the meal that follows the reading of the Haggaddah, a plate of matzos is served, as is plenty of Passover wine. Central to the table is the Seder plate, a round dish with designated spots for placement of the symbolic foods to be sampled during the reading of the Haggadah. The foods are not eaten from this plate, but everyone gets a sampling of the foods to be tasted from separate platters.

    Karpas: A mild green vegetable or herb, such as celery or parsley. This symbolizes the new growth of spring. A small leaf of romaine lettuce or other mild green might be used. It's sometimes dipped into salt water or vinegar as a reminder of the tears shed by enslaved Jews.

    Maror: A bitter herb, usually horseradish for Ashkenazic Jews or a bitter green such as escarole or endive for Sephardic jews. This represents the bitterness of slavery suffered by the Jews in Egypt.

    Haroset: This mixture of nuts, wine, and apples, as Ashkenazic Jews make it, or nuts, wine, and dried fruits, as Sephardic Jews make it, has a brick-like color to symbolize the bricks used by the Jewish slaves to build Pharoah’s cities.

    Hazeret: Another bitter herb or green, such as watercress or chicory. Some believe that two bitter herbs should be tasted, though this component of the Seder plate is optional. Two components of the Seder plate that vegans obviously skip or replace: zoreah, the shank bone, and Beytzah, a hard-boiled egg. To fill all the spots in the vegan Passover plate, the former is sometimes replaced with a roasted beet, and the latter, a boiled potato (more for its shape than any symbolic similarity).

    And for using up all that leftover matzo, here's Vegan Matzo Brei, the Passover breakfast classic:

    Vegan Matzo Brei

    • Here are more tips for keeping the Holidays and Special Occasions healthy!
    • For lots more features on healthy lifestyle, please explore VegKitchen’s Healthy Vegan Kitchen page.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Josh says

      April 06, 2011 at 2:51 pm

      Wow I am going to try to bring those my grandma but I doubt it she will be willing to change a 80 years tradition 🙂

    2. AnaVar says

      April 17, 2011 at 4:44 am

      Great tips, thanks for sharing.

      Ana

    3. Randi says

      April 18, 2011 at 1:52 pm

      Hard to get past the traditional menu for my family and friends who are not vegetarian or vegan. I may try an alternative seder on the third night.

    4. Ilene says

      April 07, 2012 at 5:08 pm

      Thanks for the great recipes.
      I made the Spring Vegetable soup and the Quinoa Pilaf last night for Seder. Yum! My hubby liked the soup too - haven't got him to try quinoa yet. 🙂

    5. Nava says

      April 12, 2012 at 10:02 pm

      Thanks for your comments, everyone! Glad you enjoyed this Passover fare and hope you all had a nice holiday.

    6. Kim says

      March 25, 2014 at 11:53 am

      You can also try a Pascal Yam on the seder plate! 😉

    7. Nava says

      March 25, 2014 at 12:08 pm

      LOL, I love that, Kim ...

    8. Marlene says

      April 07, 2014 at 2:43 pm

      I can't wait to make these recipes... Thank you for these delicious recipes.

    9. Nava says

      April 07, 2014 at 2:48 pm

      You're most welcome, Marlene! Happy holiday and hope you enjoy the recipes.

    10. Cava says

      April 17, 2014 at 7:17 pm

      Thanks for the tips! I did a variation on the spinach/leek/potato gratin and it came out amazing! THANK YOU! Mazel! 😉

    11. Amy says

      March 12, 2015 at 8:09 am

      Thanks for sharing. Everything looks great.

    12. Nat Wenger says

      March 22, 2015 at 10:26 am

      Last year I made an entirely vegan Ashkenazi Passover for 36 people, only two of whom were vegan. It's not too difficult. Just be clever!

    13. naomi herz says

      April 01, 2015 at 9:01 am

      Will definitely be on my Passover dinner list.Is looking good and Healthy

    14. Sa says

      April 02, 2015 at 1:30 pm

      Much better than typical Passover food, which is always 50 shades of brown.

    15. Sharon says

      April 11, 2016 at 10:22 pm

      Cava,

      I\'m curious what your variation was on the spinach leek potato gratin if you don\'t mind sharing. Thanks so much!!

    16. Nava says

      April 11, 2016 at 10:26 pm

      Sharon, do you mean this recipe: http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/special-occasions-and-entertaining/passover-ashkenazic-style-seder/spinach-leek-and-potato-matzo-gratin/ — I'm not sure I understand your question!

    17. Sharon says

      April 16, 2016 at 6:44 pm

      I'm sorry Cava.... My question was meant for Nava. Thank you for replying though. Nava, do you mind sharing your variation that you said was amazing?
      Sharon

    18. Leona says

      April 17, 2016 at 6:42 am

      This is the first year I'm making a vegan Seder so really appreciate your recipes and menu ideas. Very helpful - thank you!!

    19. Nava says

      April 18, 2016 at 10:19 am

      Hi Sharon — I'm still not clear which recipe you're referring to, as this is the landing page for the Passover recipes. Could you clarify, and I'll respond. Thanks!

    20. Rachel says

      March 01, 2017 at 4:57 pm

      I'm still looking for the perfect Passover main course - Ashkenazi or Sephardi -- not too complicated since we're a large group, a meat substitute that will satisfy all those who expect a roast chicken or brisket. Not too starchy, like the mina that has lots of potatoes, though it looks delish. Help!!

    21. brenda borenstein says

      March 08, 2017 at 10:04 pm

      Anything for freeze ahead

    22. Johanna Bronsztein says

      April 09, 2017 at 6:47 am

      I will go now and do them .I am turning into a vegan and just today I found this vegan Passover page thank you ,cannot wait to do it.

    23. JoAnn says

      March 16, 2018 at 4:35 pm

      Nava, I LOVE your recipes, and that so many are also GF! Your recipes are delicious and your pictures are so beautiful. I'd like to let you know that I have created a (vegan) Haggadah inspired by the concept of Holistic Non-violence, as put forth by Tribe of Heart Filmmakers. It is free to use and download in a PDF format, on my special Passover page: http://joannfarb.weebly.com/passover.html

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